Preservation of bivalves.



A. A. FREEMAN. PRBSBRVATIONOF BIVALVES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 13, 1909.

Patented Dec. 21, 1909.

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ALBERT A. FREEMAN, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.

PRESERVATION OF IBIVALVES.

Specification of- Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1909.

Application filed March 13, 1909. Serial No. 483,121.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. FREEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlantic City, in the county of Atlantic, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Preservation of Bivalves, of which the following a specification.

llly invention consists in coating the rear end or hinge of an oyster or other bivalve in such manner that it is prevented from opening itself, whereby the life of the bivalve is prolonged with its liquor-life preserved, and it is enabled to endure vibration in transit without injury.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of an oyster having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section thereof on line 0c00.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

In the drawings, 1 designates an oyster, and 2 designates a mass of cement, which is applied to the opposite faces of the exterior of the shell thereof at the rear or hinged end of the same. so as to coat and cover only said end entirely around the same and tightly embrace the-shell at said end, thus holding together the members of the shell and controlling the same from opening, while permitting the natural requirements of the oyster at the bill of the shell, in that said bill is left in natural condition and the breathingopening therein is not incased or covered with such cement or otherwise obstructed, and thus the normal condition of the edible portion of the oyster is preserved in the shell for a considerable length of time, the

oyster being enabled also to endure vibrations in transit without injuring or affecting the same.

The cement that is preferably employed by me is plaster of paris hardened by the addition of a sullieient quantity of Portland cement.

I am aware that it has been proposed to preserve oysters by packing them incased in a mass of plaster of paris, which is fatal to the oyster in that it may either smother them or enter the shell at the usual breathing opening in the bill thereof, and thus de stroy them, this being avoided by the means employed by me.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A method of preserving a bivalve consisting in holding the shell thereof in closed condition, and retaining the liquor-life therein by incasing the shell only at the hinge end thereof with a mass of hard-setting material and leaving the bill of the shell uncovered and the breathing-opening thereat unobstructed.

2. A bivalve having only on the hinge end of the shell thereof hard-setting material tightly incasing said end, keeping the shell from opening and preserving the liquor-life of the oyster therein, and leaving the bill of the shell uncovered and the breathing-opening thereat unobstructed.

ALBERT A. F l-EEMAN.

lVitnesses JOHN A. lvinnnnsnnnr, HARRY C. DALTON. 

